Mage of Darkholm
by Lady Anguis
Summary: Jaina is a princess, uncontrollable and wild, and a page in Tortall. However, her mother calls her back to become the apprentice of the most feared mage in Anguis. Can Jaina's spirit pull her through? Will she be able to overcome her fear of the dark, cru
1. *

  
[Author's notes: 'k, I've kinda given up on the Shang Mouse, until I get the impression anybody really wants me to finish it; you don't have to read it, it doesn't really matter too much to this story. Anguis is a big, rich country that has recently established diplomatic relations with Tortall, Sayo is a former princess of Anguis who is now married to Raoul of Goldenlake. I think that's all you need.  
  
None of the characters that Tamora Pierce made belong to me. Characters that I made do. Anguis is my creation. Please review this. I'll love you if you do.]  
  
  
*************  
"...They will practice the fighting arts with fourth year pages, and they will be in many of your classes. They are here to learn as much as they can about Tortallan history, culture and politics, as well as martial arts. Please welcome them."  
  
The three Anguan youths all had the same skin tone; a deep, rosy tan that they shared with Lady Sayo of Goldenlake and Malorie's Peak, and the few Anguan ambassadors that the pages saw everyday, and they all had brown eyes, but their hair color differed. The tallest boy, Devan, had smooth, medium brown hair. He was thin and dignified, with high cheekbones and arched brows visible even at 13. He had the bearing of an aristocrat, but he looked open and friendly. The second boy, shorter and slightly less slender, had a very friendly expression and a face that stated dignity had no place with him. His hair had a decided red tone, and his eyes were light, golden-brown, like Lady Sayo's. The girl, for the third one was a girl, had dark brown hair, nearly black, and her eyes were dark. She was medium hight, slender, and extremely pretty. Her expression, however, made clear she was not here voluntarily and her opinion of Tortall was not flattering.  
  
The training master left them to eat their lunch, the three foreigners grouped together defensively, at least a year older than anyone present. Bolder fourth year pages initiated contact, appreciated by two of the three Anguans.   
  
"I'm Devin," said the taller boy. "This is Corick," -the shorter one bowed- "And Jaina."  
The girls expression did not lighten as her gaze fell on the intruders.  
  
"Girls don't belong here!" someone said from the 4th year tables. She didn't even turn around, which undoubtedly did not win her any points from the offendor. Devin and Corick chatted, accented but flawless, with the pages, while she finished her meal. A perceptive watcher would have noticed she wasn't particularly fond of her fellow Anguans, either. A boy who tried to trip her going to her room at meals end was amazed to find his own momentum sending him crashing into a doorway, as an unfazed Jaina continued on her way.  
  
************  
  
"We've been here 3 days now," Devin told her.  
  
"I'm amazed. You can count," she replied nastily.  
  
"And you haven't done a good job at making friends," he continued as if he hadn't been interrupted.  
  
"I didn't choose to come here to make friends. Oh, hmm. In fact, I don't think I chose to come here at all!"  
  
"Jaina..."  
  
"Oh shut up. You too," she snapped at Corick.  
  
"I haven't said anything!"  
  
"That's new. Go talk to the darling Tortallans."  
  
As Jaina finally got around to talking to the pages, they realized that while her grasp of the language was not the best, she was an amazing fighter. The gifted students in her class reported that she was the most strongly gifted they'd ever seen, except true mages. Rumors were half-heartedly spread that she, like the Lioness, used magic to cheat, but it was hard to torture someone who truly did not care what you thought of her, and could ground you into the floor with a hand tied behind her back. Hazing and teasing traditions were rewritten in her favor, as was bullying, because the vicious, arrogant foreign girl did not take kindly to people trying to trip her. Lord Wyldon, the training master, did not pretend to like her, nor she him, but he was forced to accept she was a magnificent fighter.  
  
"Is everyone in your country that good?"  
  
"Gods, no!" Corick responded. "She's the best we've had in years. Scary, isn't she?"  
  
The pages affirmed that she was, indeed, scary.  
  
"Why does she have such a bad attitude?"  
  
"Oh, the crown assigned her to be here. She's not too hot on this country. Devin and I were volunteers. But really she doesn't like anyone much. Its just the way she is. She'll be a hell of a fighter."  
  
"Mithros, she's beautiful, though, isn't she?" a new voice added.  
  
Jaina had happened to be passing by during the conversation in the library, and while the comments on her attitude did not offend her, she managed to break two of the last speaker's fingers during staff practice later that day.  
  
And she was enjoying herself, in a way, loath as she was to admit it. She enjoyed beating up people, and enjoyed a solitary life she had never been able to in Anguis. Of course, she still hated the pages, and Corus, and the food and the language, but...  
  
"Hello. Jaina, isn't it?"  
  
Jaina turned to see a smiling figure she recognized from a long time ago.  
"Sayo?"  
  
"Of Goldenlake," Sayo said proudly, holding up a hand with a golden band to display the mark of her new life.  
  
"Congratulations."  
  
"Thank you. But that's not why I'm here. You don't seem to be doing too well here."  
  
Sayo was trustworthy. Jaina knew that. "I don't do too well anywhere, my lady. I am learning. There are worse options."  
  
"Yes, I know that."  
  
"I am starting to enjoy myself."  
  
"Indeed?"  
  
A sly, dark grin was all she needed for an answer.  
  
"Ah, well," Sayo said. If you need someone to talk to, stop by. I'll give you knews from Anguis, if you like.  
  
"Anguis? Not 'home'?"  
  
"Not for a long time."  
  
"Lucky," Jaina sighed. "Ah well. I will see you. Goodbye."  
  
Sayo watched the girl retreat, and decided that Jaina was quite satisfied. She was too moral to be a bully, but she was a solitary cat, and she seemed to be nothing more than very good at hiding her enjoyment. There a minor worry to relieve of Kel, anyway. Good.  



	2. **

[Er...sorry; got my stories mixed up. This is the right on. Please review! Insert disclaimer, I don't feel like typing it.]  
  
"Majesty," greeted Jaina, as the Queens face shifted out of the red glow in her scrying pool.  
  
"Don't call me Majesty. I'm your mother. How are you doing in Tortall."  
  
"I like it here." Jaina did not have a particularly honest relationship with her mother, but the woman was known to be a powerful mage, and probably had a truth telling spell worked into her side of the scrying link.  
  
"That's a pity, Jaina, because you're leaving."  
  
"Mother!"  
  
"This isn't going to please you."  
  
"Damn you, it already isn't! Tell me!" Jaina mentally went through and abundance of swearing in two languages. Beautiful as she was, the Queen of Anguis was a hard woman to love in the best of times.  
  
"His Lordship Sirus tiber of Darkholm is going to take you on as an apprentice."  
  
"What!? Mother, no!"  
  
"You have no choice whatsoever in the matter. He is a valuable man in my kingdom, and the most powerful mage in Anguis. I can't say its entirely proper, but it is going to happen."  
  
"You're going to ship to the Darkholm mountains to learn magic I don't care about from a man half the country is terrified of?"  
  
"Oh, behave yourself, Jaina. You are a princess. You are obviously a powerfully gifted girl, and I wouldn't dare offend him by refusing, even if I wanted to. You are a princess. You will serve your country to the best of your ability. A mage as powerful as you will be if you are trained by Lord Sirus will be much more help than another petty fighter."  
  
"How dare you?!"  
  
"Jaina Kirian dai Madira!" Jaina could feel her mother's burning anger through the magic of the pool, and she flinched. "You have made me a great deal less sympathetic, daughter."  
  
"You'll be glad to have me off your hands." The fierce, anger was replaced by pain.  
  
"You are a wild little brat. Undoubtedly Lord Sirus will teach you to mind your manners. You will be under his control completely. This is an opportunity many will cherish. I will see you back in Anguis in a month's time, when I will turn you over to him. Travel is already scheduled. You leave in a week."  
  
Jaina's eyes were shining, but tears did not overflow. "You truly do not care about me, do you?"  
  
Her mother looked at her. Jaina saw her own face in her mothers. Dark eyes, dark hair, haughtiness, coldness...  
"I suppose you deserve a mother who can bring herself to care for you the way one should," the Queen said, in a burst of unusual honesty. "Every child does. I cannot. I answer to my country. I am a queen. You will leave in a weeks time. I will see you soon."  
  
Red magic washed the pool for a brief moment, and it was simply a pan of water. Jaina's tears overflowed into it, causing ripples to spread. She could never call her mother a bad queen.  
  
  
  



	3. ***

[Ok, this sucks. My coding system for Word does not seem to be working. And I haven't been drunk lately, which is the only other explanation. This is the right chapter. Insert a disclaimer, please review, etc. Maybe at some point I will get around to more chapters.   
  
PS: Does anyone really want me to continue with Shang Mouse? Email me or something and help me out here. Or don't.]  
  
**************  
  
Jaina spent most of her last week of freedom packing, and saying goodbye to Devin, Corick and Sayo. Her last day was spent wandering the palace. It was a nice place. It had an echo of home. The imperial palace in Anguis was cold, and unfriendly, like the Queen who commanded it. She wondered what Darkholm would be like. That was not something she wanted to imagine.  
  
The boat trip was an easy one, a fine boat, full of the luxury fit for a princess, but Jaina remembered little of it. She woke up to her nightmare as she was walking the steps of the palace, greeted by a beautiful woman whom she knew all too well, and the man beside her.  
  
"Jaina, this is-"  
  
"The girl knows who I am." His voice was cold, dark, and completely unkind. He was very tall, and broad shouldered, with a powerful, slender build. His hair and eyes were black, and his skin was pale; very pale, for an Anguan. She was terrified. This was the man her life was to be turned over to. He looked young; he was rumored to be over 100; he was at least as old as her grandmother. He did not look kind. Jaina stood, frozen, a few steps from the top. Her mother's glare, usually so powerful, seemed petty in comparison, and she managed to finish the stairs.  
  
He took a few long steps forward, towards her. It was all she could do to stop herself from backing away. She looked down, properly, thankful to avoid his eyes. Thankful too soon. He grabbed her chin, not roughly, but with impossible strength, and forced it up. He gazed into her eyes, and it was almost physical pain. Power radiated from him. He tilted her head, left and right.  
  
"Yes," he said. His voice was like a tomb. "She has great power, or she will soon. Almost completely untrained. "Girl," he said, and either did not notice or ignored Jaina's flinch from his gaze. "Do you wish to come with me?"  
  
"I have no choice."  
  
"You do not. I would have known you were lying if you had said yes. We will leave today. There is nothing for either of us here. Darkholm is several days ride away. Say goodbye to your mother." He went to fetch the horses. Jaina hoped he would be quick. His orders were as unquestionable as the sky or the sea. I will not cry, she told herself.  
  
Her mother looked as if someone had been strangling her. Her face was white, her eyes pained. She has a headache, Jaina thought, without malice, but without pity.  
  
"You do not regret this?"  
  
"A queen has no time for regret," her mother said coldly. "I expect you to make me proud. This is an incredible opportunity. Behave yourself, and learn. I expect you to be obedient."  
  
"She will be obedient." There was no trace of cruelty in his voice, not trace of kindness, simply implacable truth. Jaina shivered. He was leading two horses; a plain brown mare, and a magnificent huge grey stallion that must be his. They were saddled and ready; he packs were stowed on the brown. "Come." He nodded to the queen. "Majesty."  
  
Jaina turned back as they rode. He did not. She saw her mother, pale and drawn. A queen has no time for regret. Her mother noticed her glace, and turned away.  
  
  
  
  
  



	4. ****

  
--"Fetch the books." It was not a huge, echoing order, but it would have taken more than a 13 year old girl's strength to disobey--  
  
**************  
  
Jaina lay the books down on the table and sat down across from Lord Sirus. The table came up very high, and she felt the presence of the dark man far too near her for comfort. She felt like a rabbit.  
  
Lord Sirus ignored the books.  
"Do you know who I am?" he asked.  
  
Jaina stumbled. "You are the most powerful mage in Anguis."  
  
"Yes." He glanced at her. "'In the world?'" he said, as if reading her mind. "Your questions will be asked whether you voice them or not. Ask them."  
  
"Are you the most powerful in the world?"  
  
"I do not know. Does it matter."  
  
"In Tortall, there is a man named Numair Salamin."  
  
"I know of him. A black robe. We in Anguis do not measure that way." His face an voice was blank, but she could sense the sneer. "I suppose he is more of a mage than I am. Fireworks and lightning." He glanced at her. Jaina was shivering, from fear and cold. She was hungry. "You are used to the life of a princess." There was contempt in his voice.  
  
"My lord." Jaina looked down. Why did she feel so week? What was there about this man that he could control him entirely?   
  
"I brought you here because you have power. You have no skill. You have no training. You have no knowledge. Whether you have talent remains to be seen. Your mother has put you under my rule, and you will do as you are told. I do not appreciate failure. Understood?"  
  
I have done a lot of trembling lately, Jaina thought distantly. "Yes, my lord."  
  
"Did you read the books?"  
  
"I...tried, my lord."  
  
"Tried?" The sneer and contempt was clear.  
  
"I...could not understand them."  
  
"Could not understand. Come here, girl."  
  
Jaina rose from her chair and went to stand by his chair. He rose, towering more than two feet about her. He looked at her again, gripping her chin roughly with his left hand, and tilting her head. Lord Sirus dropped his hand, and with the other, he struck her across the face.  
  
"Understand them," he said. "Go."  
  
**************  
  
He was strong. The blow rung in her ears and burned across her cheek as she ran to her room with the books. She was careful not to let her tears fall on the undoubtedly precious tomes as they taunted her. Weakling. Can't fight back. Can't go home.   
  
Jaina had been a fighter until very recently. She had been hit far harder than this. She had had sword wounds and broken bones, but this was worse. It was like no pain she had ever been through; deliberate and antagonizing. Jaina unpacked a mirror, and saw the bruises across her cheek. With an act of willpower she stopped crying, and read the books, again and again, all night, until her eyes burned and her bones ached with weariness. She watched the tiny spell-globe in the corner, the only one she couldn't control, lighten with dawn. Inch by inch, she learned what the books had to tell her.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	5. *****

[The usual. Don't own any of these characters, this story is actually going somewhere now, please review.]  
  
  
Time passed. Jaina remained in Darkholm, fearful, shivering. She worked as Lord Sirus told her to. The shadows under her eyes deepened, as her nights were spent by the glow of spell globes, studying ancient books and drawing complex, frightening patterns in odd inks. Mistakes through ignorance were met with a patient explanation, and an order to repeat whatever she had been doing to get it right. Mistakes through carelessness, misunderstanding, or any other situation were greeted with a heavy slap across the face. As the cold winter faded into spring, Jaina barely noticed that the bruise marks on her cheeks were more infrequent, that, once in a while, she even enjoyed the long fight; a few sparks of pure magic, pure knowledge would grace her fear and hatred of the cold place where she lived. She did not at all consciously notice a slight shadow of kindness upon her master.   
  
He was rubbing burn salve onto her hand, where a nasty fire spell had backlashed. Jaina seemed unable to master fire. He did not hit her for the mistake, but she was in more than enough pain; the burn salve felt like salt and lemon juice against her palm. There was no order to try the spell again; she was clearly drained, her skin pale, her eyes dull. Instead, after the wounded hand had been wrapped in bandages, he taught her spell patterns. It was an unusual lesson, and a rewarding one. After two hours, Jaina could tell the difference between earth, air, fire and water. After another, she could spot the difference between water and ice, air and win, earth and stone. Fire was the most complicated. It's patterns were almost unreadable, and it's chaos was hard to break down into the smaller patterns that could be used to identify and destroy.  
Lord Sirus gave her several fire patterns to memorize, with little instruction.  
  
"Some people master fire instantly. When they do so, they will never learn it. If you learn the patterns, you will be able not just to control fire, but to know it." Jaina held the pattern scrolls up to the light, watching the twisting flames, incarnated as thin lines of ink.  
  
"Keep them with you. Study them when you think you can," he added enigmatically. "Get some sleep. We will go down to the town tommorow."  
  
It was the first time he had ever, to her knowledge, considered her wellbeing.  
  
**************  
  
It was a long ride. The town in the foothills of the Darkholm mountains, might have been nothing, but it sat on a trade route, and it was a pleasant place, and cheerfully celebrating spring.  
  
The mountain peaks where Lord Sirus' palace was were always cold, but Jaina could feel a change in the air as they traveled downward. It was the dawn of spring, although Jaina would have enjoyed the warmth and flowers more if she had not been riding double with Lord Sirus. She sat in front of him, on that huge horse of his, stiff; his arms were holding the reins on either side of her, a somewhat familiar position to be in, given that after 4 months, she was still terrified of him.  
  
Sirus' mood seemed to have lightened, enough that he tumbled a handful of silver coins into Jaina's surprised hand, and told her to be off. Jaina, mute, scurried off like a mouse, leaving Sirus to deal in whatever trade he had come for. She had some food; decent, warm food (her diet in Darkholm was usually cold, stale or both, and there wasn't a whole of it). She bought clothes; undergarments, a new jacket, and a new pair of boots; she had outgrown a lot of things.  
  
Relaxing at an eating house, Jaina saw Sirus in the company of several women, chatting; they were smiling, he was not. He turned his head towards one, and raised an eyebrow. He stroked her hair with long, thin fingers. Jaina could barely believe what she was seeing. Was he flirting? He was. And after a few minutes, he and the favored woman walked casually into the inn, the other ladies sighing dramatically, as they walked away, with many wistful looks over their shoulders. Jaina pushed an unfinished plate of stew away from her and swallowed hard, and forced herself to think of nothing but fire patterns.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



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